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Top 10 Iconic Singers from Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the largest city in the state of New York and is located at the head of the Niagra river. It is also across the Canadian border from Southern Ontario

Buffalo is quite an interesting city and one can’t help but think of singers. Best singers at that, who might have come from there.

Fun fact: Did you know the nightlife here never calls it quits? It actually lasts until 4 am which is pretty uncommon for most pubs and clubs in the U.S.

Anyway, with its artistic side, it doesn’t come as a surprise that some of the iconic singers in the world have actually come from Buffalo. Here is a list of some of them

1. Rick James

Rick James from a 1984 episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous- Author; Leach Entertainment Features-

Rick James was born as James Ambrose Johnson Jr. on February 1st, 1948 and died on August 6th, 2004. He was an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer who was born and raised in Buffalo, New York.

Rick actually began his musical career in his teenage years and he was in fact in various bands before entering the U.S. Navy Reserve so as to avoid being drafted into the army.

In 1964, James deserted to Toronto, Canada, where he formed a rock band that was known as the Mynah Birds. The band did pretty well for itself because in 1966, they were able to sign a recording deal with Motown Records.

Unfortunately, James’s singing career with his group came to a halt after his whereabouts were eventually discovered by military authorities and was convicted of desertion.

He served several months in jail and after being released, he moved to California, where he started a variety of rock and funk groups in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

After forming the locally popular Stone City Band in his hometown of Buffalo in 1977, he found success as a recording artist yet again,  after signing with Motown’s Gordy Records, and  releasing the album ‘Come Get It!‘ in 1978 which produced the very popular hits, “You & I” and “Mary Jane”.

In 1981, James released one of his most successful album, ‘Street Songs,’ which included career-defining hits such as “Give It to Me Baby” and “Super Freak”, 

Moreover, Rick James was also a very successful songwriter and producer, having done so for other successful and popular artists like Teena Marie, the Mary Jane Girls, the Temptations, Eddie Murphy and Smokey Robinson.

2. Brian McKnight

Brian McKnight on the red carpet at Celebrity Fight Night- Author; Gage Skidmore-

Brian Kelly McKnight was born June 5th, 1969 in Buffalo, New York. He is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma. Come on, you must have heard his song, “Back at one.” The guy is pretty serious with his vocal range.

McKnight’s music experience began in childhood when he became a member of his church choir, which was directed by his grandfather. He explored different genres of music, and in his early teens, he started musical ambitions by composing instrumental material while also learning to play several instruments.

McKnight formed a band and began performing his original songs at local venues. By the age of 18, he was offered a publishing deal.

3. Googoo dolls

Goo Goo Dolls in Concert at Divots in Norfolk, NE- Author; Fr. Jeff Lorig-

The Goo Goo Dolls is the name of the most iconic American rock band that was formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York.

It was formed by John Rzeznik who is the guitarist and vocalist of the band, Robby Takac who is also the vocalist and bassist of the band and George Tutuska who is the drummer of the band

After starting off as a cover band and then developing a punk sound, The Goo Goo Dolls experienced mainstream success following the 1995 release of their breakthrough single, “Name”.

The band is renowned for its biggest hit, “Iris”, which was released in 1998. The song spent nearly 12 straight months on the Billboard charts and held the number one position on the Hot 100 Airplay chart for 18 weeks. This is pretty impressive given how new hits are made every day and they still managed to be on the charts.

In October 2012, “Iris” was again ranked number 1 on Billboard‘s “Top 100 Pop Songs 1992鈥�2012” chart. It doesn’t come as a surprise though. ‘Iris’ is a pretty impressive and nostalgic song. You can’t just help but sing along to it whenever it plays.

The band has had 19 top ten singles on various charts, they have sold 15 million records worldwide, and they’ve even been nominated for four Grammy Awards.

4. Grover Washington Jr.

Grover Washington Jr., one of the founders of Smooth Jazz- Author; Tul26407- Wikimedia

Washington was born in Buffalo, New York,  on December 12th, 1943 and passed on December 17th, 1999. His mother was a church chorister, and his father was a collector of old jazz gramophone records and a saxophonist. So it’s no surprise that Grover ended up following the same steps.

Washington grew up listening to the great jazzmen and big band leaders like Benny Goodman, Fletcher Henderson, among others.

By the time he was 8, his father gave Washington a saxophone with which he would practice. He would even sneak into clubs just to be able to see some of the famous Buffalo blues musicians.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Washington made some of the genre’s most memorable hits, including “Mister Magic”, “Reed Seed”, “Black Frost”, “Winelight”, “Inner City Blues”, “Let it Flow (For ‘Dr. J’)” and “The Best is Yet to Come”.

Additionally, he performed very frequently with other artists. This list is inclusive of Bill Withers on “Just the Two of Us”, Patti LaBelle on “The Best Is Yet to Come” and Phyllis Hyman on “A Sacred Kind of Love”.

He is greatly remembered for his take on the Dave Brubeck classic “Take Five”, and for his 1996 version of “Soulful Strut”.

5. Venzella Joy

Drums- Image by Heyme Langbroek from

Venzella Joy is one of pop music’s premier drummers who gained a great deal of worldwide recognition as the heartbeat of Beyonce鈥檚 all-girl band.

Venzella Joy began playing the drums at only the age of 10 and received her earliest training in school and at her local church. After high school, she attended Canisius College in Buffalo, NY and graduated with a B.A. in Criminal Justice with a minor in music.

That same year Joy joined the cast of MTV鈥檚 Making His Band where she was noticed as a female drummer who gave new meaning to the phrase 鈥渉it like a girl鈥�. As Joy鈥檚 musical career began to thrive, her personal life unfortunately weakened at the passing of her mother.

6. Steven Aaron Jordan

DJ mixer table- Image by Gigxels .com from

Steven Aaron Jordan, born on November 2nd, 1973 is an American DJ, record producer, and television personality. As one of the most successful record producers of the mid-to-late 1990s, Jordan won a 1997 Grammy Award for his work on Puff Daddy’s debut album “No Way Out” and produced for a number of very big and popular artists including Mariah Carey, Tevin Campbell, The Notorious B.I.G., 112, Jodeci, Faith Evans, Jay-Z, and Eve.

Steven was raised in Buffalo, New York and Rochester, New York and first rose to fame as a member of Bad Boy Records’ “Hitmen” roster of in-house producers and writers during the 1990s.

Jordan often worked with label owner Sean “Puffy” Combs, in producing several Bad Boy projects, such as the self-titled debut album of R&B quartet 112.He even produced their lead single “Only You” featuring The Notorious B.I.G.

Jordan produced several other  records on Notorious B.I.G.’s Life After Death album, such as “Mo Money Mo Problems”, “Nasty Boy”, “Notorious Thugs” among others.

Impressively enough, Jordan won a Grammy Award for the production work on Combs’ No Way Out album and most notably, the Notorious B.I.G. tribute song, “I’ll Be Missing You.”

Apart from his association with Bad Boy, he has also produced for artists including Mariah Carey, with whom he was nominated for a Grammy Award for the contribution on her album “Butterfly”

7. Jonathan Deas

A concert- Image by Rahul Pandit from

A generational talent, Jonathan Deas is quickly becoming a name to be known in the music scene.

He was introduced to music as a child, travelling with his father鈥檚 gospel group. He attended the Buffalo Academy for the Visual and performing arts, and it was there that he discovered his love for the piano and keyboard.

He quickly took the 鈥淟ive Music Capital of the World鈥� by storm, playing 7 consecutive South by Southwest festivals and also 4 times at Austin City Limits while building his own brand: Jon Keyz Music Group (JKMG).

In 2018, Grammy Award-winning artist Gary Clark Jr. tapped him to join his band, which leD to Deas performing at venues such as Madison Square Garden and appearing on iconic television shows Saturday Night Live and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. This has been impressive for his carrer and is currently still continuing with his music journey.

8. Joe Public

A band playing- Author; Entombed-

Joe Public is an American new jack swing group from Buffalo. This is the kind of genre that is a fusion of the rhythms and production techniques of hip-hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B.

Joe Public consists of lead singer and bass guitarist Kevin Scott, keyboardist and guitarist Jake Carter, percussionist and drummer Dwight “Mr Dew” Wyatt and lead guitarist Joe “J.R.” Sayles.

The group is best known for their hit single “Live and Learn,” which reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1992.

As a successful group, they were even able to host the “NBA Jams Music Video,” a VHS promotional release for the video game NBA Jam: Tournament Edition that contained music videos intercut with professional basketball highlight footage.

9. Lance Diamond

Lounge singer and radio personality, Lance Diamond performing at Nektar Martini Bar and Grille in Buffalo, New York- Author; DragonFire1024-

Lance Diamond was born on July 3rd 1945 and passed on January 4th, 2015. He was an American lounge singer and radio personality based in Buffalo, New York, whose career spanned over 40 years.

Diamond, together with his band the 24 Karat Diamond Band, played many classic rock and disco-era songs.

He often called himself the “Love Doctor,” getting the name from his radio show, Saturday Night Fever which would feature love songs.

His success in Buffalo led him to receive offers to lead shows in Las Vegas, which he declined due to his preference to stay in Buffalo.

Diamond played with the Goo Goo Dolls live, as well as recording with them on the tracks “Down on the Corner”, “Never Take the Place of Your Man”, “My Girl”, “Do You Believe”, and “Bitch.”

Diamond was deemed Buffalo’s “best individual vocalist”, “king of charisma” and best “genre-defying act” by Buffalo’s ARTVOICE. He also performed twice at Melody Fair, a famous performing arts venue in North Tonawanda.

During his last years, Diamond was a regular performer in Buffalo’s Elmwood Village and performed at The Elmwood Lounge, a local tavern in Elmwood Village, on a weekly basis until shortly before his death

An award he has won during his career:  Buffalo Music Hall of Fame, 1992.

10. Alexis Spight

A woman singing- Image by StockSnap from

Alexis Spight, born on July 3rd, 1993 in Buffalo, is an American urban contemporary gospel musician, and runner-up on season five of the BET singing competition known as, Sunday Best.

She started her music career, in 2012, with the single, “Imagine Me”, and the song ranked on the Hot Gospel Songs chart. Her first album, L.O.L. (Living Out Loud), was released in 2013 by Music World Gospel.

This album was her Billboard magazine breakthrough release upon The Billboard 200, Gospel Albums, and Independent Albums charts and this is when her career skyrocketed.